RARE 1847 ANTI-SLAVERY DOCUMENT REVEALS AMERICAN BAPTISTS’ COMMITMENT TO ABOLITION

A remarkable piece of American history has been uncovered in the American Baptist archive in Groton, Massachusetts. Jennifer Cromack, a retired teacher and archive volunteer, stumbled upon a 5-foot-long handwritten document titled “A Resolution and Protest Against Slavery,” signed by 116 New England ministers in Boston and adopted on March 2, 1847. The document, which was thought to be lost forever, offers a glimpse into the emerging debate over slavery in the 18th century in the Northeast.

The document’s discovery is significant, as it sheds light on a critical moment in the history of the Baptist church. It was signed two years after the issue of slavery prompted southern Baptists to split from northern Baptists and form the Southern Baptist Convention. The northern Baptists eventually became American Baptist Churches USA.

Rev. Mary Day Hamel, the executive minister of the American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts, said, “It comes from such a critical era in American history, you know, right prior to the Civil War. It was a unique moment in history when Baptists in Massachusetts stepped up and took a strong position and stood for justice in the shaping of this country. That’s become part of our heritage to this day, to be people who stand for justice, for American Baptists to embrace diversity.”

The document shows that the ministers had hoped for a “reformatory movement” led by those involved in slavery, but felt compelled to act after witnessing a growing disposition to justify and perpetuate the system. “Under these circumstances, we can no longer be silent,” the document states. “We owe something to the oppressed as well as to the oppressor, and justice demands the fulfillment of that obligation.”

Rev. Diane Badger, the administrator of the American Baptist Church of Massachusetts, has been working to identify the signers of the document, including Nathaniel Colver of Tremont Temple in Boston and Baron Stow, who belonged to the state’s anti-slavery society. Badger is also estimating the document’s value and planning for its protection, with potential plans to share a digital copy with Massachusetts’ 230 American Baptist churches.

The discovery has been met with inspiration from Rev. Kenneth Young, whose predominantly Black Calvary Baptist Church in Haverhill, Massachusetts, was created by freed Blacks in 1871. “I thought it was awesome that we had over hundred signers to this, that they would project that freedom for our people is just,” Young said. “It follows through on the line of the abolitionist movement and fighting for those who may not have had the strength to fight for themselves against a system of racism”.